The present invention relates to bearings, and more particularly to rolling element bearings for transmissions and gearboxes.
Bearing assemblies for rotatably coupling a gear shaft with the housing of a transmission or other gearbox typically include two separate bearings installed within a cylindrical or tubular carrier. As such carriers are typically formed of aluminum, the two bearings have to be provided with a relatively high preload to ensure that contact of all the bearing components is maintained at the elevated temperatures generally present during normal operation of the transmission or gearbox. That is, because the aluminum carrier expands at greater rate than the steel bearing rings, thereby reducing preloading in the bearings, a greater initial preload is necessary to offset the reduction at higher temperatures. This increased preloading results in energy losses and a reduction of the operating life of the bearings.